United set to complete £52m Fred transfer

MANCHESTER United are expected to complete their first signing of the summer this week with Brazil international Fred scheduled at Carrington for final talks after playing a pre-World Cup friendly at Anfield yesterday.

The Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder was in talks with Manchester City in January, with his all-action displays in the Champions League having caught the eye of both clubs.

But with City switching targets to Napoli star Jorginho, United have a clear run at Fred — who featured in Brazil’s 2-0 friendly victory over Croatia in Liverpool yesterday — to bring more energy to their midfield.

Michael Carrick’s retirement

First signing: Fred

and Marouane Fellaini’s likely departure see Jose Mourinho short of two of his most trusted players in the centre of the park.

Fred, a box-to-box midfielder who was seen as a cheaper alternative to the in-demand Sergei Milinkovic-Savic of Lazio, is expected

(left) to double his wages while his early arrival will allow Mourinho and Ed Woodward to focus on defensive reinforcements.

United will pay Shakhtar a structured fee of around £52m for Fred.

Once formalities are concluded, Fred will become the first signing of the summer and the seventh Brazilian to play for Manchester United.

Joey Barton will, meanwhile, be unveiled as Fleetwood head coach today following the end of his 13-month ban for betting on football matches.

Barton — who has signed a three-year deal at the League One club — was announced as John Sheridan’s successor in April. But he was unable to start work until his suspension from football activities was served and the ban expired on Saturday. BELGIUM are concerned Vincent Kompany could miss the World Cup after the experienced defender picked up a groin injury in Saturday evening’s 0-0 draw with Portugal.

Kompany left the pitch early in the second half after stretching for the ball and is now a major doubt ahead of confirmation of the 23-man squad, which Roberto Martinez announces today.

The Manchester City captain missed the 2016 European Championships through injury and could now miss out on the World Cup. He will now undergo scans to assess the extent of his lay-off.

“You don’t want to lose players like Vincent,” Martinez said af-

Scans: Vincent Kompany

ter Saturday’s match in Brussels. “There’s the experience... there’s a little bit the know-how, there’s the communication on the pitch. I think that understanding – knowing what’s expected in big games and big moments is im- portant so you don’t want to lose any of those players.”

Germany coach Joachim Low knows there is still plenty for his reigning champions to work on ahead of the World Cup.

Germany are not enjoying the best preparations for the defence of their trophy after their winless run was extended by a 2-1 defeat to Austria at the Worthersee Stadion in Klagenfurt on Saturday.

Low’s team have not won a game since October, drawing with England, France and Spain and losing to Brazil and now Austria since beating Azerbaijan.

Germany led through Mesut Ozil’s strike but second half goals from Martin Hinteregger and Alessandro Schopf turned the match on its head and gave Austria, who will not be at the World Cup in Russia later this month, a seventh successive victory.